[dpdk-users] DPDK on Mellanox BlueField Ref Platform

["Jim Vaigl" <jimv@rockbridgesoftware.com>]

I'm trying to get DPDK to run on a Mellanox BlueField Reference Platform.
For what it's worth, I'm using CentOS 7.4.1708, Kernel 4.14.139 built from
source, MLNX_OFED 4.6-3.5.8, and DPDK 19.08.  I can get stuff to build and
run, but I'm failing to receive packets.  Either I get none, or I get core
dumps.  I've become convinced it's at least partly because the wrong driver
is in use in the configuration I've created.

 

In https://doc.dpdk.org/guides/nics/mlx5.html, it says this:

 

                User space I/O kernel modules (uio and igb_uio) are not used
and do not have to be loaded.

 

And the example output on that page shows:

 

EAL: PCI device 0000:05:00.0 on NUMA socket 0

EAL:   probe driver: 15b3:1013 librte_pmd_mlx5

PMD: librte_pmd_mlx5: PCI information matches, using device "mlx5_0" (VF:
false)

PMD: librte_pmd_mlx5: 1 port(s) detected

PMD: librte_pmd_mlx5: port 1 MAC address is e4:1d:2d:e7:0c:fe

 

...so, it's working and not using VFIO or igb_uio.  But in DPDK's
usertools/dpdk-setup.sh, I see this:

 

#

# Calls dpdk-devbind.py --status to show the devices and what they

# are all bound to, in terms of drivers.

#

show_devices()

{

       if [ -d /sys/module/vfio_pci -o -d /sys/module/igb_uio ]; then

              ${RTE_SDK}/usertools/dpdk-devbind.py --status

       else

              echo "# Please load the 'igb_uio' or 'vfio-pci' kernel module
before "

              echo "# querying or adjusting device bindings"

       fi

}

 

So the setup script bails unless VFIO or igb_uio is loaded, but this doesn't
match the output from the testpmd output example above, which shows
something else active.   I've got a request in to Mellanox, but it's been
weeks and the only feedback so far is that 'the DPDK developer brought up
DPDK on Bluefield and confirmed operation'.

 

If anyone is aware of a combination of version of CentOS, kernel, OFED, and
DPDK that works, and a self-consistent and compatible combination of
build/install options, I'd be grateful.  I've gone as far as digging through
the kernel .config and turning off VFIO and any built-in looking support for
mlx5 or dpdk so that I can be sure the support is coming from the dpdk
modules, but this feels like guessing.

 

Thanks for any suggestions,

--Jim